Marimekko’s Poppy, or Unikko, one of the world’s most recognizable designs, was created by Maija Isola in 1964.The bold oversized pink and red flowers punctuated by dark blue stems and centers was immediately popular. It remains so to this day.
The youngest of three daughters, Maija grew up on a farm in rural Finland. At the end of WWII, her life dramatically changed. Her father passed away, she became pregnant and married her first of three husbands. Being an unusually free spirit, when her daughter Kristina was quite young. she visited museums in Oslo and was inspired by the modern artists exhibited there. She was inspired to paint and became an art student. One of her designs, Amfora, caught the attention of Armi Ratia who founded the textile company Marimekko. Maija was hired and eventually became the head designer. She worked with the company for 39 years.
Throughout her association with Marimekko, she created over 500 textile designs, each created full size by hand. Her pattern books are still used by the company. Each pattern was precisely detailed including the exact colors, locations, and sizes of each element in the designs in full scale. She would often sit cross legged on the floor painting late into the night.
An avid traveler, her art was influenced by many of the locations she visited as well as the people she met throughout her life. She spent time throughout Europe, the Middle East, and the United States, eventually returning to Finland and working with her daughter designing for Marimekko. Upon her retirement from the company, she continued to paint rather than designing textiles until her death in 2001. Many of her designs are still being produced today. Her exacting instructions in her pattern books has allowed for the continuing production. Although her Poppy pattern was immensely popular for many years, it was not used in clothing until 36 years after it was originally created. Maija Isola’s bold yet simple and colorful designs are still popular today.
To read more about Maija Isola and Marimekko check out this Wikipedia article and this post on Fashion History Timeline from the Fashion Institute of Technology.
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